Bowstring Pizza and Brewyard

TLDR: Highly recommended place to hang out with friends, family, or co-workers. Full bar. Great customer service. Delicious pizza and garlic knots. Dog friendly. Trivia brought us here first then we returned to spend our winnings ($50). In addition to trivia, Bowstring hosts a variety of concerts at the adjacent R&D yard. Plus they have several arcade games and a shuffleboard inside. The repurposed warehouse provides a welcoming and fun atmosphere. Park in the nearby lot (free) then head to the bar to order food and drink. The long tv screen rotates through menu slides. It is easiest to pull up the online menu from the QR code. It's primarily NY style pizza, wings, and sandwiches. They offer custom flatbreads and have vegan options. The food is served on disposable plates. If you are unsure what draft to get, you can taste them. I particularly like the Hula Vibes. I then pair it with a custom pizza or garlic knots. Sometimes the beer is served in glass other times in plastics cups. After ordering, take your number and drink to a table inside or outside. The bartenders and servers are friendly and efficient. We received our order surprisingly quick. The garage doors open to cool or warm up the inside. From what we noticed it seems to be dog friendly inside and out. Overall, this is a great hang out spot that isn't overly crowded.

My friend and I came in on a Monday night to take advantage of the pizza and beer specials. The interior was very random, a few pinball machines, but a lot of random scattered things behind the bar, almost like the recycling truck hadn't come by yet. The staff let us have a few beer samples, they could've been a little more engaging and smiled though. For pizza, I got two slices, one with cheese and one with sausage. My friend doesn't eat dairy, so he got a flatbread.My pizza came from the truck outside, it had an ok crust, it was a little chewable, but still crispy. But not much flavor to it, it was quite generic. For cheese, they had little packets of Parmesan and when I opened it, the cheese was almost yellow.Now we did come on a Monday night so maybe the atmosphere is better when a band is playing live. But I just wasn't happy with my experience.

I spent the last 72 hours reflecting before writing this review. I did not want to write this review from a place out of fresh emotion but from an unbiased, rational perspective with just the facts.My sister and I purchased tickets through Afton to see a reggae concert at Bowstring this past Saturday (6/1). Naturally we were both excited to see the opening band whose from Raleigh, however, from the time we arrived at the venue things went downhill quickly. The tickets purchased from Afton, specifically stated the show started at 7, doors open at 6. (attached) we arrived at 6. The two greeters in the grass turf stage area, ostentatiously asserted that doors were not open to the general public, only to 'VIP's', regular entry was at 7. Strange, but shrugged it off. The show didn't start until 7:45, btw.So naturally, we decided to go to the 'bar' area to place an order for pizza and drinks. From approximately 6:00pm until 6:19pm my sister stood at the bar unattended to and completely ignored for nearly 20 minutes. She was wearing a bright red sundress with various vibrant flowers printed all over the dress, so it's pretty obvious she was being ignored. A flat out refusal of service. I STRONGLY urge you to check the cameras at approximately 6:18pm and I can assure you, you will see a commotion of kind patrons surrounding & consoling a customer directly at the bar with NONE of your staff around or caring enough to assist or even simply acknowledge someone waiting for service at the bar.So upset from her treatment by the staff, she was crying at the bar from the experience. Other kind patrons & customers noticed and offered to get the bars staff attention so we could actually order but at that point the damage was done. I was ready to leave. My sister, nor I, have ever felt so publicly humiliated in our lives.For her to take such offense - the treatment was especially egregious, she has background in regional managerial experience overseeing operations of multiple dining & bar establishments in the Raleigh area. I promptly walked to the concert astro turf area, and politely asked how can I get a refund for this show, as the vibe of the place just seemed like something out of a modern dystopia. Not because of other patrons or customers, but solely the energy of the working staff.Both my sister and I felt invisible, and whenever we were addressed it was crystal clear we were being spoken down to and in a condescending manner.To no surprise, I was again answered rudely and was told "It wasn't the venues problem and to contact Afton" - whom by the way has an unreasonably strict no refund policy - under no circumstances whatsoever do they offer refunds. Frustrated, starving, and slightly in disbelief in what transpired - we begrudgingly - took the orange wristbands to stay for the show so my sister could see the band she's so passionate to support. Thankfully the show itself was good but that's ONLY a reflection of the performers - not the establishment. WE SPENT THE NIGHT STARVING AT A VENUE THAT SELLS FOOD! Let that sink in for a second...Seeing the way this venue's staff selectively treats customers, I can only imagine how poorly & unfair they deal with business on the backend and the low level of professionalism they must treat artists/bands coming to their venue to perform. Listen - I'm a touring artist about to go on tour in the US and overseas. I'll be performing downtown Raleigh, August 10th. So, believe me, I have had my fair share of dealing with rudeness, unprofessionalism, lack of integrity and a lack of giving a damn but this 'venue' is by far one of the worst experiences I've EVER had. Word of mouth will make or break a business and I will NEVER recommend this place to any touring artist/bands, friends or family members. I wouldn't even recommend this place to a stranger.I will make sure to spread the truth of our experience at Bowstring around Raleigh to promoters, bands/artists. An absolute atrocity of a business. Can't speak on the food, because again we were never served.It's insane that a place that sells food would happily choose to have customers starve at their venue. WTF.Karma (You Get Back, What You Give)

We stopped in for a weeknight pizza and beer with friends and were disappointed to learn that they were out of wings. We ordered the g-free pizza, which was decent. Our friends chose the bbq chicken pizza. It was huge! Nice beer selection as well.I was a little put off by them serving everything on paper plates and in plastic cups. I'm not sure that I will return, given how many quality breweries there are in Raleigh.

Place is always full of people for a reason. Super fun time great atmosphere all type of drinks you are looking for. We love that it is dog friendly so we can bring the puppy. Pizza is average but overall one of my go to spots.

Got here around 5 pm and quickly ordered some pizza and held off on the beverages until the rest of my group got there. They have a great beer selection as well as cocktail offerings. There is a lot of seating especially outside. I loved the astroturf area on the other side of the parking lot for the kids to run around on and dogs to have a space to feel included. I gave it 3 stars mainly for its pizza services: the pizza took over an hour to get (it was a busy night but still...) as well as the quality of the pizza was okay. I wasn't blown away with the taste of the veggie pizza. Also the price point for the slices seemed pretty steep. The space is great for a drink but food wise I don't think we'd go back.

Great outdoor space and a nice variety of drinks. Good pizza, decent sandwiches, but the wings were dismal - especially at $19 for 12. They were scrawny and not crispy at all. The sauces were just ok. I would skip these in future visits for sure. Service was pretty slow to get food out.We were here for the jazz brunch. Peter Lamb and the Wolves were fantastic!

Very nice environment. Beers was great, atmosphere was jumping. Pizza was ok but you can tell they just throw toppings in cheese pizza and reheat them. My sausage kept falling of the pizza because it wasn't fresh made.

Great venue although parking is a bit tough and their offerings were a bit expensive. That being said, I would definitely go back for another visit.

Jordan makes the best old fashioned I've ever had. Great space, great atmosphere. Trivia is fun too